I have often said that every long snapper in the NFL, and to some extent even in college, has an interesting story about how they became a successful snapper.  Recently, there is another inspiring story of a long shot player making it at the highest level of football.  Tanner Purdum is the likely snapper for the Chiefs this year and, as mentioned in a prior post, he has taken an unconventional route to the NFL.

Purdum graduated from Baker University in 2007 and spent time as a snapper and quarterback.  A bit light coming our of college, he started to add weight and spent a season at Avila University as a graduate assistant, before returning to Baker as a graduate assistant in 2008.  During this time, Purdum kept working hard and training to snap in the NFL.  Last year, he had workouts with the Packers and Seahawks and attended pro free agent combines run by former NFL kicker Louis Aguilar.

He also sent out 128 homemade DVDs to multiple staff members at each NFL team and one such DVD got the attention of the Kansas City Chiefs.  After a workout with the Chiefs, Purdum was signed shortly thereafter and, with Thomas Gafford waived, Purdum is the lone snapper in camp.  I recently spoke with Purdum about his remarkable story and how it demonstrates that hard work and dedication can help in achieveing your goals regardless of where you come from.  Any snapper looking to play in high school, college or the pros can learn from Tanner’s story of perserverance.